Atlanta Falcons www.buccaneersauthorizedshops.com , the team said late Wednesday after reaching an agreement to renegotiate the star receiver's contract next year.General manager Thomas Dimitroff announced the compromise about 16 hours ahead of Thursday's 4 p.m. reporting deadline, removing a major distraction hanging over a team that is again expected to be one of the top contenders in the NFC."We have had continued dialogue all offseason with Julio and his representation," Dimitroff said. "We have come to an agreement with Julio, and we will readdress everything in 2019. I appreciate everyone's hard work and communication on this."The Falcons had informed Jones several weeks ago that they wouldn't be able to renegotiate his current $71.5 million package, which still has three years remaining and included $47 million in guaranteed money.Jones, who makes an average of $14.25 million a year, was unhappy with his deal after a flurry of new contracts during the offseason dropped Jones down the list of the NFL's highest-paid receivers.Tampa Bay's Mike Evans , Cleveland's Jarvis Landry and Kansas City's Sammy Watkins are among those now making more per year than Jones, a two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler who caught 88 passes for 1,444 yards last season.Jones skipped offseason workouts at the team's training facility as well as a mandatory minicamp to demonstrate his unhappiness. His next option was to hold out during training camp, which could have led to fines of $40,000 per day.Neither side wanted to go down a path that could've damaged what has otherwise been a good relationship. So Tampa Bay Buccaneers Womens T-Shirt , it looks as though Jones will get a new deal in 2019 — not as soon as he would've liked, but a year earlier than the Falcons would normally agree to renegotiate a long-term contract.Atlanta is eager to pair Jones with another former Alabama receiver, Calvin Ridley, who was this year's first-round pick. The team hopes that Ridley, as he develops, can help to lure coverages away from Jones, who is often blanketed by two or three defenders.The Falcons said salary cap limitations prevented them from discussing a new deal with Jones in 2018 . The team already agreed to a five-year, $150 million extension with quarterback Matt Ryan, the most lucrative deal in NFL history, and is now focused on working out new contracts for defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, offensive guard Jake Matthews and safety Ricardo Allen."This adjustment does not impede us from working on other extensions with other key members of our football team," Dimitroff said. "We will continue to work on those contracts going forward."Jones hasn't talked with the Atlanta media in months Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hats , keeping a low profile during the contract brouhaha. In one of his rare public appearances, he told TMZ that he has a good relationship with the franchise that pulled off a blockbuster trade with Cleveland to make him a first-round pick in 2011."I'm just working on getting myself better," he said. "There's no bad blood between me and the team or anything like that."Jones hasn't been totally estranged from his teammates during the offseason. This month, he took part in Ryan's private passing camp in California along with about a dozen of his teammates.All throughout the contract talks, Jones remained in the good graces of coach Dan Quinn."Sometimes football and business intersect," Quinn said after Jones skipped the three-day minicamp. "That's OK and that happens a lot."Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at s://apnews/search/paul%20newberry The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will travel to Soldier Field this weekend, to take on the Chicago Bears. Both teams are 2-1 heading into week four, but the Bears won last week, while the Buccaneers lost. These two teams have quite a bit of history with each other. When the Buccaneers joined the league in 1977, they were both apart of the NFC central until 2001, when Tampa Bay moved to the NFC South. These two teams have squared off 78 total times, with Sunday being the 79th matchup. Since Tampa Bay joined the league in 1997 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Womens Hoodie , these two teams have played every season, but seven. This will now be the fifth year in a row that these two teams will play each other. That is extremely uncommon for teams who aren’t in the same division, but when both teams usually finish last in their respective division, this is what tends to happen.The all-time series record is probably what you’d expect. Overall, the Buccaneers haven’t fared to well against the Bears, but the last two matchups have gone in the Buccaneers favor. Make no mistake about it, this will be the best Bears team Tampa has faced in quite some time. All-time record: Chicago has won 38 games, while Tampa Bay has won 20. Last five matchups: Chicago has won three of the last five games played between the two teams. Most recent game: Tampa Bay beat chicago in week two last season, 29-7. All time scoring matchup: Chicago has scored 1,231 points, while Tampa Bay has scored 952.You can find the results and statistics of every game by clicking here.